


'Cause Two Can Keep a Secret

by hannielemonade



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mystery and suspense, alternative idol au, angst with happy ending, but there's lots of fluff too!! potentially, not gonna lie there's going to be some sad parts but I'll try to keep the fluff and angst balanced, or at least that's the plan, skz are not too nice in the beginning but it gets better pretty fast, some humor sprinkled here and there, title and note content based on PLL theme song but otherwise has no relation to the show
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26302357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannielemonade/pseuds/hannielemonade
Summary: While on break, Stray Kids member, Peter, goes missing. His younger twin brother, Jisung, finds a printed note in his room addressed to SKZ's dorm address with the recipient's name smudged out by water, the content itself consists of only one line:You swore you’d never tell.Determined to find out what's been happening to his brother at work, Jisung decides to infiltrate the group by posing as Peter.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix, Kim Seungmin/Seo Changbin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	'Cause Two Can Keep a Secret

Jisung took a deep breath as he looked up at the building. The last time he visited was two years ago when he helped his brother move in. Things on the outside hadn't changed much, but who's to say what's been going on inside this bricked monstrosity?

Walking up the front steps, Jisung caught a glimpse of his own reflection on the glass door. His newly styled black hair was pushed back from his eyes, forcing him to stare back at himself with one hand already in the 'Pull' position. He noted that his cheeks were just a little rounder than Peter's, but if anyone asked, he could easily wave it off as the result of eating too much of his mom's homemade meals over the break, which technically wasn't a lie.

The hallway came to view, and as the door shut behind him, it fully hit Jisung that he was _actually_ doing this. He was really going to get up on that elevator, get off on the 9th floor, and meet the person who was potentially responsible for his brother's disappearance.

It all began when Stray Kids went on a two-week break, and most of the members, including Peter, decided to visit their families. Jisung was all too thrilled to see his twin again, demanding for comeback spoilers the moment he walked into their shared bedroom. At night, while both of them were snuggled up in their respective bunks, Peter spoke fondly of dorm life and shared hilarious stories featuring his members.

Jisung had laughed at all of them despite his eyes growing heavier after each one. "That's so nice," he had commented while stifling a yawn, "It's good to hear that none of you really changed from pre-debut."

His brother had chuckled softly from the top bunk, "Yeah," he had murmured right as Jisung felt himself slip out of consciousness, "Nothing's changed."

When morning came, Jisung heard the door to his bedroom quietly open and shut, but shrugged it off as Peter going to the kitchen for an early breakfast. He was always a much better morning person than his younger twin.

Yet, when noon rolled around, the older was no longer in the house. Jisung wondered if he went to visit a friend and tried not to be too disappointed that he wasn't brought along. Peter had his own life, and besides, he'd be stuck with him and their parents for the whole break anyway, Jisung should have plenty of chances to fill him in on what's been going on back home.

Time continued to pass with no signs of his twin coming back too soon, so Jisung decided to catch up on some K-dramas he had been putting off. Which led him to wonder what sort of dramas his brother's been bingeing with the rest of his group. Maybe he should come up with a list for all of them! Yes, that sounded like a good plan.

By the time Jisung had finished listing his top 10, it was already time for dinner. Peter was still nowhere in sight. Maybe he was having dinner with some friends? But he would have at least told his mom that, right?

He didn't want to panic over nothing, but even his parents seemed worried at this point. His mother had tried calling Peter's phone multiple times throughout the day and got no answer. It wasn't until Jisung tried calling after the table's been cleared that they realized something was definitely up. Instead of being directed to Peter's voice mail, they were informed that his phone was "out of range".

Of course, Jisung's parents had thought of contacting the police immediately, but due to the nature of their eldest son's occupation, they decided to keep it a private investigation instead. Jisung did his part by doing a thorough search of their bedroom, hoping to find clues on whether his brother had planned for this longer leave or not.

While all his luggage was still next to the bunk bed right where he'd left them the day before, Jisung found a printed note under the older's pillow. It was addressed to Stray Kids' dorm with the recipient's name smudged out by water, and the content itself consisted of only a single line: _You swore you'd never tell._

Although both the hired detective and his parents reasoned that whether the note was directly related to Peter's disappearance or not was unclear, Jisung believed that one of the members had to be responsible, and this was a clue intentionally left to him by his brother. He wanted to trust his twin sense and told his parents just as much. It took multiple failed attempts before he eventually convinced them to let him follow through with his plan- infiltrate Stray Kids by posing as Peter.

And now here he was, standing in the lobby of the idol group's dorm building. All he had to do, was press the elevator button.

 _Okay, Jisung, here goes nothing._ He took a deep breath, and pressed the 'Up' button.

Nothing happened.

Jisung blinked. Did he not press hard enough?

Switching his duffel bag to his less sore shoulder, he pressed down again, with more purpose this time.

Still nothing.

For some reason, his one working brain cell convinced him that elevators operated the same way as vending machines, which led him to start banging on the firmly closed doors rather desperately. He was _so_ close, the plan hasn't even fully started yet! This couldn't already be the end-

"Uh, it's under maintenance." A familiar voice sounded behind him with a flat tone.

Jisung spun around wildly with a fist still raised, only to find himself face-to-face with soft brown eyes naturally giving off a puppy dog look, making him freeze in shock. The other man's appearance was almost exactly as how he remembered it two years ago, sans the trace of a creased line between his brows from scowling. "S-Seungmin?"

"P-Peter?" Seungmin returned with a mocking tone. Jisung would have laughed, but it somehow didn't seem appropriate. "What, did you leave your brain back in Incheon?"

The shorter of the two stared, taken aback. He remembered the vocalist as someone who loved to joke and tease his friends, but he was never _mean_ about it like now.

Seeing as 'Peter' didn't seem to have a comeback, Seungmin's scowl deepened, "No way, really?" The other still gave no response. Eventually, the brunette shrugged and began walking towards the opposite direction.

Jisung continued to stare after him for a bit before the other stopped in his tracks, shoulders slumping as he let out a deep sigh. He turned around and jerked a thumb in the direction he was heading towards, "The stairs are over here, you coming or not?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," 'Peter' quickly gathered himself, forcing himself not to stutter again as he caught up to the idol, "Thanks."

Seungmin had already turned his back to the dark haired boy again once he saw him moving, only to whip around at almost World Record speed the moment that last word left Jisung's mouth. He stared at the latter, brown eyes blown wide. The shorter shifted uneasily from one foot to the other as Seungmin froze in that position for more than 5 seconds.

"Peter," The brunette's tone had lost its mean edge, but it still sounded careful, calculated, "Did you just thank me?"

"Um, yes?" Jisung blinked.

Seungmin stared at him for a few seconds longer before turning away, muttering under his breath, "Okay then."

The rest of their walk up the stairs was torturous to say the least. It was a good thing Peter had packed light (Jisung basically just brought back the one duffel bag of clothes), so at least he wasn't suffering from having to carry his luggage up 9 flights of stairs. The tension radiating off of Seungmin on the other hand, was a different story entirely.

 _Maybe he had a bad break or something..._ Jisung reasoned with himself.

Halfway through their 6th flight, the taller suddenly turned around, "Do you need help with that?" His words almost sounded strangled as he indicated towards Jisung's bag with a slight tilt of his chin.

"Oh! Uh, I think I can manage, we only have three floors left."

Again, Seungmin scowled before facing back to the front, "Suit yourself."

They walked in silence for the rest of the way, but Jisung noticed the former slowing his pace down every few steps, being mindful of the additional weight the latter was physically carrying, which Jisung appreciated. Now, _this_ was more like the Seungmin he remembered. He even held the door open when they finally reached their floor.

For the sake of staying in character, Jisung willed himself not to take another deep breath before going through the front door, expecting to see most of the members already back and playfully annoying each other- but the space was barren. Judging from the number of discarded shoes near the entrance, the two of them shouldn't be the only ones here, but the place was almost dead silent aside from muffled audio playing from one of the tightly shut bedroom doors.

"We're home." Seungmin said, almost a little too sarcastically for Jisung's peace of mind. The brunette shut the door behind them both before taking off his shoes and tucking them neatly into a corner, a stark difference from the other pairs that seemed like they were haphazardly kicked off into a pile.

'Peter' toed off his shoes, stepping cautiously into the living room. It barely seemed like a shared unit, the placement of everything all seemed too much in "default mode", not even the shared furniture that they had ordered and built together (with much difficulty) was anywhere in sight.

"Well, guess I'll get to unpacking," Jisung said, trying to sound cheerful as he glanced towards Seungmin, who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, looking even more tired than when they ran into each other in the lobby. _I mean, we did just walk up 9 flights of stairs..._

"Sure, you do that," the vocalist replied softly.

Trying not to seem too awkward, Jisung headed towards the bedroom on the very right, remembering it to be Peter's the last time he visited. Before he could open the door, it swung open by itself, and Jisung almost got bowled over if the unsuspecting offender hadn't pulled the brakes just in time.

"Watch it," a rather gruff voice growled. The person whom he assumed to be his roommate proceeded to shoulder past him without giving him a second glance.

The blonde proceeded to cut through the living room, ignoring the brunette in the kitchen entirely, before walking out the door in his flip-flops and slamming the door behind him.

Well... that was a promising start.

Jisung had dropped his duffel bag during the run-in but he couldn't be bothered to pick it back up. This was _nothing_ like what his brother made him expect from his stories. He spun around and met the gaze of the only other person within conversational space.

"What the heck was _that_ about?"

Seungmin had been busying himself with pushing an empty mug back and forth between his hands while observing 'Peter's actions since entering their dorm. But before either of them could speak again, another bedroom door opened, and out walked a person whom Jisung had really hoped not to run into so early on in his infiltration mission. He really _really_ should have thought this through more.

The man's sharp feline eyes immediately zeroed in on him as they scanned the living room. Jisung noted that his light brown hair looked freshly dyed, probably in preparation for the comeback. Oh, right, they had a comeback... how was he going to explain his complete lack of knowledge regarding the choreography? It wasn't like he could be truthful and say that his brother was too stingy to spoil it, but he'll worry about that later. Right now, he had a much bigger problem- Lee Minho.

"You're back." The dancer commented simply, tilting his head slightly as he studied the younger. For what, the latter wasn't sure. Such was the enigma that was Lee Minho.

The older's lips started moving again, but Jisung wasn't really listening. He just couldn't find it in himself to focus. When was the last time words that spilled from those lips were directed at him? More than two years ago, that was for sure. Man, it had to be way back when they were still on a certain god awful show-

"-Jisung?"

"Huh- what?" The younger shook his head, "I mean- I'm Peter, what are you talking about?"

Minho's originally neutral expression immediately morphed into disappointment, a look that Jisung was sadly familiar with. "Of course I know that. I was asking if you were with Jisung over the break."

"Uh, why wouldn't I? Was kind of stuck with him. Constantly. Yup, was with my twin the whole time, haha..." he really should have paid attention to those acting lessons back in the day.

"How is he?" Minho asked, hands wringing behind his back.

If Jisung hadn't been stunned before, he certainly was now. After their last quarrel, he had thought Minho would want nothing to do with him, but here he was, asking about his well-being. He wondered if Peter helped talk him up during their time apart, it seemed like something he'd do.

"He's-"

"Weren't you heading somewhere?" Seungmin cut in, making Jisung jump. Luckily, both of the other present residents seemed to have chosen not to comment on it in favor of glaring at each other.

"Right. Thank you very much for the reminder, Seungmin." Minho replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. The two proceeded to continue their glaring contest as the dancer made his way to the entrance, which didn't end even as the older exited, literally backing out of the door just to maintain their hostile game.

Once the front door was securely shut, Jisung stepped in front of the brunette, not even trying to conceal his confusion anymore, "What the heck was _that?!"_

Instead of being given an answer, 'Peter' found himself being dragged into his now empty bedroom and heard the lock click behind them. It all happened so fast the he wasn't even given the chance to struggle, and now he was just staring dumbly at a deeply exasperated Seungmin, "Peter- no," the brunette sighed, massaging his temples before straightening himself again with his arms folded across his chest, "You're not Peter, are you?"

Jisung stared at him, brain short-circuiting before attempting to weigh his options. But Seungmin seemed firm on his stance, and the vocalist had never been easy to fool. It was in his best interest to just admit defeat and accept whatever judgment was coming for him.

"Oh, come on! It wasn't supposed to end this quickly!" Jisung groaned, slumping down onto the floor against one of the beds that he couldn't be bothered to identify at the moment, "All that time spent talking to myself in front of the mirror just went," he blew an appropriate raspberry, "Down the drain."

"Wow, you really thought you were well-prepared, huh?" Seungmin mused.

Despite the situation, Jisung still found the courage to glare up at the vocalist, "Really would appreciate it if you could put away the sarcasm for maybe three minutes."

"That depends on what your next answer is," the taller shrugged, sitting down in front of the sulking imposter with his legs crossed, "Why are you here? Is this some sort of _The Parent Trap_ situation?"

Jisung groaned, rubbing a hand over his face, eyes screwed shut as he tried to organize everything that had happened within the last two weeks, including the mere 30 minutes he just spent in this building.

"Fine. You're already sitting, so I'll just start..."

* * *

For a full 5 minutes or so, Seungmin just sat there, processing, eyes barely blinking. He glanced over at Jisung a few times with slight suspicion, gauging how much he should trust all the information that was just dumped on him.

"So you think that note was meant for one of us?"

"Well, I assumed so, since it was addressed to here," the latter replied honestly.

The vocalist nodded, glancing away again towards the blank wall opposite to him. After another minute, Seungmin turned his attention back to Jisung, looking a lot calmer, "I understand. I won't tell the others," there was a beat before he added, "I'll also update you on what's _actually_ been going on around here. Sounds like Peter really misinformed you."

Jisung could barely believe how easy that was. In all honesty, Seungmin had no reason to trust his crazy reason that sounded like it came straight out of a thriller drama, so... really, why should he? And why was Jisung doubting how much he even deserved to be trusted by the puppy-like idol? Stressing himself out with these questions wasn't helping, so he decided to voice his main concern out loud, "Why are you helping me?"

The man still sitting opposite from him shifted his gaze away, chewing at the inside of his lower lip uneasily. "You were my friend, Jisung, and I cared about you," the vocalist said, voice even softer now, "Even while on that show."

It was like the temperature in the room fell 10 degrees. Jisung could practically hear his heart pounding in his ears, the most awful scenes from their filming flashed before his eyes like a panorama slideshow. Taking a shaky breath, he managed to choke out, "I'm sorry about what happened."

Seungmin smiled sadly, placing a hand on Jisung's shoulder, "I know you are, but I'm not the one you should be saying that to." After giving him a comforting squeeze, the brunette stood up and unlocked the door. He paused right as he was about to twist the knob, body half-turned towards Jisung, "I'm sorry about being so rude to you earlier in the lobby." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "I'm... also sorry about your brother. Your family must be worried sick."

Jisung looked up slowly, eyes landing on the other man but not really focusing. With everything that's been going on, this was the first time he found himself getting the chance to process the fact that _his brother was missing._ He thought back on how he had excitedly planned out all the activities he could do with Peter once he got back, wrote out all the stories he needed to update him on, even the most mundane occurrences suddenly seemed exciting enough to tell. Then his visit was cut short just like that. Worst of all, it was beginning to dawn on him that _he_ could have prevented it if he had just gotten out of bed early for once.

He was only pulled out of his spiraling when he felt something press against his cheek. He tried to refocus his gaze, but no matter how hard he tried, his surroundings remained blurred out.

"Go on, cry it out. I got you." He heard Seungmin murmur from somewhere next to him, and the slight pressure on his cheek lifted. From his blurry vision, he vaguely noticed the brunette balling up a piece of wet tissue paper with one hand, the other already pulling out a fresh one from the box of Kleenex on the desk.

Seungmin's voice sounded so comforting, so assuring, and even though a perfectly clean piece of tissue paper was being offered to him, Jisung opted to cry into his newly formed ally's shoulder instead. Despite the disgusted noise Seungmin let out, he never once tried to remove him, even as the cries died into sniffles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> secret #1: 'Peter' is Jisung


End file.
